In Another Lifetime
by aussiewritergirl27
Summary: A look at what might have happened if Beckett had a son who had been on the same soccer team as Alexis (reference to what Castle said in 3x08 when looking for a kidnapped boy). Completely AU.
1. Chapter 1

**In Another Lifetime**

**A/N:** Hey guys, so it's been a while since I've posted a story because year 12's been so full on, but I'm on holidays now so I've decided to start a new story. Hopefully this will be longer than my first story, and I'd love to hear some feedback since I've been out of the game for so long!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Castle, just borrowing it for a while:)

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**Chapter 1**

"Mum!" shouts a six year old kid with messy brown hair and hazel eyes that are sharp with determination, "We're gonna be late!"

Katherine Beckett bends down to her son, who is currently tugging impatiently at her jeans, and smiles at his cute face which is filled with worry.

"Logan it's only three thirty," Kate says warmly, "Training doesn't start 'till four thirty. We've got plenty of time."

Seeing her son still looking anxiously up at her, Kate sighs and says, "Okay, how about you go put your soccer uniform on and we can play in the playground if we're early?"

"Yessss!" cheers Logan, "You're the best mum ever!"

Logan gives his mum a quick hug around the waist and sprints off to his room. Kate watches him leave with a small smile on her face and gives a slight chuckle at how energetic he is. Today was his first ever day of soccer training, and he'd been excited for it ever since he got his uniform at registration the week before. It'd been Kate's idea to sign him up for soccer, as she thought it was necessary for every boy to play a sport growing up. She knew it was hard for him growing up without a father, and didn't want him to miss out on anything else in his life- even though they were struggling as it was on her cop's salary.

Logan skids into the living room in his bright blue knee-high socks, wearing his team's black soccer shorts, and blue and black checkered shirt. In his hands he holds his new soccer boots- well sort of new. The old couple next door, who sometimes babysit Logan when Kate is at work and her father can't, gave them to her when they learnt Logan was starting soccer. Their own son had played when he was younger and they insisted it was just gathering dust now and she would be doing them favour by taking them. Kate hated taking charity, and the couple had already done so much for her, but Logan really needed soccer shoes and they were expensive new.

"Can you put on my shoes mum?" Logan asks shyly.

Logan was a little embarrassed he couldn't tie his shoelaces yet. All the other kids in his class could, but no matter what, when it came to tying his shoelaces he was stumped. He was all thumbs and could never remember what goes where.

"Of course baby," Kate says, "Come here."

Logan jumps onto the couch and starts tugging on his boots. Kate gets down on one knee, rests his foot on her thigh, and starts tying the laces.

"Okay all done," Kate announces, "Now go grab a jumper and you can watch some TV while I get changed."

"But muuuum!" Logan whines, "I'm not cold, I don't wanna wear a jumper."

"You'll be cold when we get outside," Kate chides, "Just take one and if you're not cold I'll carry it for you. I don't want you to turning into a snowman on me."

Logan laughs, "You're silly mum."

"Oh yeah," Kate challenges, "If I was silly... would I know your ticklish spot!"

Kate grabs him around his waist and tackles him gently onto the couch, tickling his stomach until he's red in the face.

"Noooooo!" gasps Logan, as he squirms and wriggles, trying to get away from his mums tickly fingers.

Kate let's him go after a little while and laughs at the drool running down her sons chin. She wipes it off with her shirt and then gets up and ruffles his hair.

"Okay, off you go," says Kate, "I'll only be a minute."

She goes into her room and sighs in front of her wardrobe wondering what to wear. She spends most of her money on her son, so there wasn't much choice. Not that she regrets having him; she loves her son and wouldn't trade him for anything. She had a hard job, and seeing him in all his innocence at the end of the day made it a little easier. She did everything she could to protect his innocence, but the nature of her job being a homicide detective meant Logan had been through more than she wanted him to by age six. She tried her best to come home safely to him at the end of every day, but despite her best attempts there had been several occasions of her waking up in a hospital to her son's concerned hazel eyes staring into hers, each time a little more scarred and world-weary than before.

As he got older she had explained her job to him as simply as she could. That there were risks to her catching bad guys every day of the week. That there was always the chance that she could get hurt, but she would do everything she could to not let that happen. Her partners Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan had helped her so much though. They always had her back, whether it was on the job, with Logan, or with guys she dated. She trusted them and knew that if something happened to her, Logan would be safe and looked after with them.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Kate pulled on her favourite skinny leg jeans, a tight-fitting shirt, and a brown leather jacket. She left her long, wavy brown hair out, and grabbed her keys as she left her room.

"Logan!" she called as she filled up a water bottle for him, "You ready?"

"Yeah," replies Logan softly.

Worried, Kate goes over and kneels in front of him. She places a finger under his chin and lifts it up so he is looking into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" whispers Kate, her heart breaking at the tears she could start to see forming in his eyes.

"What if the other kids don't like me mum?" Logan whispers back, "What if I'm terrible at soccer?"

Kate pulled him into a tight hug, and wondered how long this had been bothering him. She knew that he was excited to start soccer, and hoped that his shyness didn't hold him back. When he was around people he had known for a while like herself, her dad, Javi, and Kevin, Logan was the most energetic and outgoing kid. When he was meeting new people, he was super shy and could barely get a sentence out. Sometimes she wondered whether it was just his nature, or if missing a father had something to do with it. He was finally settling into year one, and the teacher doted on him, saying he was starting to become quite the class clown. However, he knew none of the kids who were going to be in his soccer team, so Kate had been expecting a little breakdown like this. However she was surprised he was worried about being bad at soccer, she hadn't even thought about that.

"Of course the other kids will like you!" exclaims Kate, "Just look at your class. You were so nervous for that but now your teacher tells me you're very popular. Your friend Jamie likes you a lot and you've been over to his house more times than I can remember already."

Logan sniffs, but appears as though he is calming down a little.

"And as for the soccer," continues Kate, "It doesn't matter if you're not good, and you probably won't be at first, but if you really want something you just have to work hard ok?"

"Ok," whimpers Logan.

"Are you ok to go?" asks Kate, wiping his eyes and nose with a tissue.

"Yeah," he answers, "I'm sorry I got upset mum, it was dumb."

"No, it wasn't baby," coos Kate, pulling him into a hug, "I'll always be here for you ok?"

She feels him nod against her chest, and then releases him.

"C'mon, let's go play some soccer," announces Kate loudly.

"Yeah!" cheers Logan.

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**So there's the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. If you've got the time please leave a review because they will make my day:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Sorry I took a while to update but I hope it was worth the wait:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 2  
**

"Higher!" screamed Logan, "Higher."

Kate chuckled to herself, happy to be spending time with her son, and the next time he comes back towards her on the swing she gives him an extra hard push.

"I think you're high enough Logan," Kate replies, stepping to the side of him, "If I push you any more you might go flying!"

"I wanna fly!" Logan says eagerly.

Kate smiles again, and looks around at the nearly empty park. They'd gotten here early as she'd expected, but she was glad for it as it wasn't often that she had the time to spend half an hour in the park with her son. She sees a young girl with orange hair done in two plaits running towards the playground in a uniform identical to her son's.

"Hi, I'm Alexis!" the girl says brightly.

"Hi there Alexis, I'm Kate," replies Kate giving her a little wave, the little girl's enthusiasm catching on. "That's my son Logan," says Kate pointing towards Logan, who was still on the swing, "Logan, come and say hello to one of your new teammates!"

While Logan shows off and does a huge jump off the swing when it's at its highest point, Kate asks Alexis a question. "Are you here alone? Where are your mum and dad?"

The cop inside Kate worries at the sight of this girl on her own.

"My dad's setting up for soccer training," replies Alexis proudly, "He's the coach." Alexis looks down for a second before adding rather sadly, "My mum doesn't live with us. She moved to LA."

Kate doesn't really know what to say in response to that, but luckily it doesn't get awkward because just as Alexis finishes talking she catches sight of a man running desperately towards them.

He pulls Alexis into a hug, "Oh Alexis don't run off like that! I looked around and you were gone and I thought..." The man trails off.

"I just wanted to play in the playground daddy," declares Alexis, "And look who I met!"

By this time Logan had come over to them and cuddled against Kate's leg shyly.

The man, who Kate can now see is very handsome and oddly familiar, stands up and offers his hand to Kate, "Hey, I'm Rick, Alexis' dad. Sorry about that, I was just so scared when I lost sight of her."

Kate grasps his warm hand and shakes it, "Not a problem, I get the same way about Logan here."

Rick kneels down in front of Logan and shakes his hand too, "Nice to meet you Logan, I look forward to coaching you."

"Hi," murmurs Logan shyly, before staring down at his shoes and fidgeting.

"I'm Beckett by the way," Kate adds, while pulling Logan in close to her side.

"Beckett?" Rick looks at her quizzically.

"Oops sorry," Kate says, cursing herself for forgetting she's not at work, "It's actually Kate. In my line of work you get in the habit of calling people by their last names."

"What do you do Kate?" asks Alexis curiously.

"Uh," Kate says stalling as she thinks of what she should say, "I'm a cop, detective actually. I catch bad guys."

Kate sees interest sparking in Rick's eyes. In anticipation of the questions to come, she quickly says to the kids, "Hey, how about you two play in the playground and get to know each other, and I'll help Rick set up for training?"

The kids run off and Kate stands back up, conscious of Rick's curious staring at her as they begin to walk back to where Rick had left all the soccer stuff.

"So," begins Rick, "I never would have pegged you as a detective. To start with you're really young for one. What kind of detective are you?"

"I'm in homicide, and I was the youngest ever female detective," replies Kate, surprised at how easily she's talking to this man. Normally she tries to avoid talking about her job.

"Wow," says Rick impressed, "You know I'm actually a crime-mystery writer myself, I'd love to ask you some questions some time about your job. I like getting the details right in my novels.

"Yeah sure," says Kate, "I'm pretty busy with my job but if I ever get some free time..."

"Awesome!" says Rick, child-like joy spreading over his face, "How about we trade phone numbers?"

Kate pulls out her phone and asks, "What's your number?"

Rick recites it to her, and Kate gives him hers.

"What's your last name?" Kate asks as she is filling out the contact information.

"Oh right," Rick says, "Castle."

Kate begins typing it in then her eyes widen as everything fits into place. Rick. Mystery writer. Castle. Richard Castle.

"Wait... Castle," Kate says slowly, "As in Richard Castle?"

"Yep that's me," Rick says, pleased to realise she must have read his books enough to know his name. "I gather you've read some of my works?"

"Hmm," Kate teases, pretending to have to think hard, "I might have read some of them. Though I believe I recognize you from page 6?"

Kate has actually read every single one of his books many times over, but decides he doesn't need to know that. Know how much she relied on them to get her through a very difficult time. She wasn't lying when she said she recognized him from page 6, but she was more interested in the books. To be honest she was rather disappointed when she found out about his playboy reputation, and tended to avoid reading stories about his numerous escapades. However seeing this 'soccer-dad' side to him, and how much he obviously loves Alexis, makes her wonder whether what they print in the paper is just a publicity stunt.

"Oh, um, well," Rick stutters nervously, feeling an unusual need to prove to this woman he had just met that the womanizer the papers presented him to be wasn't him at all. "I just want you to know that all that is just my publicist trying to get me more famous so she can sell more books, and apparently the only way that can happen is if I'm seen in a nightclub every week with a different woman draped over my arm. Trust me, I would much rather be at home with Alexis, but she puts it in my contract so I can't get out of it."

Kate looks at him confusedly, wondering why he would explain that to her of all people. It must show on her face because he quickly adds an explanation, which Kat can't help but think that he just made it up on the spot.

"So, you know, you don't have to worry about me being responsible enough to be able to be Logan's coach or anything," adds Rick awkwardly.

"No," Kate quickly replies, "I mean... that wasn't what I was thinking at all. I can already tell you're an excellent father to Alexis."

"Really?" Rick says uncertainly.

Fatherhood had been thrust onto Rick suddenly, and ever since Alexis was three he had been a single father- not that Meredith did much before that anyway. He always tried his very best to be enough for Alexis, and to give her the best upbringing he could, but it was always something that bothered him. Sometimes he just felt like Alexis deserved someone better... someone more capable.

"Absolutely!" Kate reassures, sensing his feeling of inadequateness, "I mean you love Alexis: you freaked out when you couldn't see her for ten seconds, and you volunteered to be coach of her soccer team. Taking on a team of twelve six-year olds is very brave and dedicated. Also, she's a happy, energetic, polite and charismatic young girl. You've done a great job with her.

Rick is stunned for a second, before saying, "Thanks. That's probably the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me. For what it's worth, I'm sure you're a great mother to Logan too."

"I dunno about that," mutters Kate, "I worry that I'm away from him way too much because of work, and I dump him on my father or neighbours way too much which is not fair to them too. But we need the money."

"Nonsense," says Rick, desperately wanting to do anything he can to help this beautiful young woman he has known for only five minutes, "He loves you, and I'm sure he understands that you're only doing what you have to do. And as for the rest, I could look after him for you."

Kate looks at him surprised, "I couldn't let you do that," she says, "I don't want to burden you, and I haven't known you long enough to impose on you like this. Don't worry about it, we can manage."

"It's no imposition," says Rick smoothly. "Look at him playing with Alexis, they are already really good friends so I'm sure they would be ecstatic at the idea of some play dates. I mean, I work from home and I would already be looking after Alexis- what difference would another kid make?

Seeing Kate still looking unsure, he quickly adds, "In fact you would be helping me because the kids would occupy each other meaning I would get more writing done."

Kate looks at him, pulling a face that shows him she knows that he's just trying to manipulate her into saying yes. He just keeps looking at her with big puppy dog eyes, and before she knows what she's submitting herself to, she agrees.

"Ok, fine," she sighs, "If you really want to I would be happy to let Logan have a play date with Alexis."

"Awesome," says Rick, eyes lighting up with excitement, "We can play laser tag together- it'll be so much cooler with three people!"

"I thought you were going to be writing," smirks Kate, feeling as though she had caught him out, before remembering that he was doing this to help her.

"Uh, well," stammers Rick.

Kate laughs, "I'm just teasing Rick. Come on, we should be setting up the soccer stuff. And thanks for the offer again by the way."

Rick stands still watching her walk towards the half unloaded soccer equipment, still mesmerized by her laugh. Somehow Rick knows he can't let this one go.

Kate turns around and frowns at Rick, "You coming?"

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**Thanks for reading! Any reviews are much appreciated:)**


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